When a concubine of the previous emperor passed away, no one in the harem of the previous dynasty cared about it until Emperor Longfeng posthumously conferred the title of Jinggui Concubine on her. Then more and more people began to go to Concubine Zhao's mourning hall to pay their respects.
However, the ones who were truly sad about Concubine Zhao's departure were the old concubines who lived in the Concubine Palace.
Normally people were not allowed to cry in the palace. Only in front of Concubine Zhao's mourning hall did they dare to cry loudly.
They cried for Concubine Zhao and also for themselves.
Jiuzhu and Prince Chen changed into plain white clothes and went to the funeral hall to burn incense and bid farewell to her.
"The funeral specifications for Concubine Jinggui have been decided." Prince Chen held Jiuzhu's hand and said, "She will be buried in the Concubine's Mausoleum, not with the late emperor."
"That's good." Jiuzhu looked back at the monks chanting scriptures in the mourning hall, and held the King's fingers tightly in her palm.
The late emperor forcibly took women from the common people into the palace during his lifetime, so at least he could give these women peace after his death.
"My Lord, Princess, please stay."
Jiuzhu turned around and saw the old nanny who served Concubine Zhao.
The nanny had a white linen belt tied around her waist and looked very haggard. She walked up to the two of them and bowed: "Before the noble concubine died, she wanted me to give some things to the princess. If the princess is willing to accept them, please follow me."
"Please lead the way, Mammy."
The yard without its owner became much quieter, and the white paper lanterns hanging under the eaves looked dull and cold in the vibrant spring.
Nanny brought Jiuzhu and Prince Chen into the house. She took out a box from the house and said, "The things in here were prepared by the noble concubine a few days ago. I should have given it to you on the Qingming Festival, but it was delayed."
Jiuzhu knew why there was a delay. The things she brought back for the noble concubine two days ago made her forget everything else.
Taking the heavy wooden box, Jiuzhu thanked him quietly.
"Princess." The nanny took three steps back and knelt down towards Jiuzhu. The other palace maids and eunuchs in the room also knelt down.
"Mammy." Jiuzhu quickly reached out to help her.
"Princess, please allow me to complete this ceremony." The nanny's eyes were firm, and Jiuzhu slowly withdrew her hand.
The nanny and the palace maids in the room kowtowed three times to Jiuzhu, and Jiuzhu heard the little palace maid sobbing.
"The noble concubine left with a smile on her face, very peacefully." Nanny stood up with the help of the little palace maid. "The princess and the master met by chance, but the master specially traveled across half of the capital for her during the Qingming Festival to burn incense and worship a person who had passed away many years ago. If it weren't for you, the master would have left with regrets."
So she accepted this gift.
The imperial palace is the most honorable place in the world, and it has things that people all over the world dream of.
Power, status, money, beauty.
The only thing missing is the human heart.
Princess Chen arrived gracefully, seeming like an alien in this harem full of desires, but not out of place.
It was like a light appeared in the darkness.
A gust of wind appeared on the scorching summer night.
She was so different, so the Concubine Dowager, who didn't want to interfere in anything, would drag her sick body and insist on going to the peach blossom forest to remind her and Prince Chen.
The Concubine Dowager's momentary weakness earned her the Princess Chen's true love, and she brought back the things that Changsheng had left behind for the Concubine Dowager.
There were faint sounds of cats meowing. Jiuzhu saw the cat raised by Concubine Zhao squatting at the foot of the bed, looking up at the bed from time to time, as if wondering why its owner was not in bed.
"After the master left, the cat just lay in the house waiting for the master to come back." Mammy's tears rolled down again: "We feed it, but it doesn't like to eat. At night, it looks for the master everywhere in the yard."
Little did the cat know that its owner would never come back.
Jiuzhu handed the wooden box in his hand to King Chen beside him, squatted in front of the cat and stretched out his hand to it.
The fat cat meowed, turned around the room many times, and slowly jumped into Jiuzhu's arms.
However, just as Jiuzhu was carrying it out of the yard, the cat struggled for a while and jumped out of her arms.
"Princess, I will help you catch the cat right away." Seeing this, Yang Yidu rolled up his sleeves and prepared to catch the cat.
"No need." Jiuzhu shook her head: "Go tell Mammy, I'll come back to pick it up after some time."
"I obey your orders."
"Want to keep a cat?" Prince Chen turned his head and asked her.
Jiuzhu shook her head: "The Queen Concubine is no longer here. This cat may not survive without an owner in the harem."
When it accidentally ran to Zhangliu Palace, its two legs were broken, not to mention the days without the care of its owner.
"Don't worry, the old ladies in the West Palace will take good care of it." Prince Chen took her hand again: "If you are worried, come back in a few days."
"Yes." Jiuzhu nodded. She always believed what the prince said.
"Come on, I'll take you somewhere." Seeing that Jiuzhu was still a little depressed, Prince Chen whispered in her ear, "Your Highness will take you out of the palace."
"Now?" Jiuzhu asked.
"Yes, right now." Prince Chen stretched out his hand and pinched her nose: "Do you want to go?"
"I do." Jiuzhu nodded.
"You can go if you want. Just smile at me." He handed the wooden box to the attendant specially arranged by his father, and rubbed her face with his hands: "You are so young, how can you look so sad?"
After rubbing it twice, the feeling was so good that Prince Chen couldn't help but rub it twice more.
This time Jiuzhu not only didn't smile at him, but was also angry with him.
Upon seeing this, Prince Chen quickly withdrew his hand: "Don't be angry, don't be angry, we will go out now."
Seeing Jiuzhu ignoring him, he reached out and pulled Jiuzhu into his arms: "I was wrong, don't be angry, okay?"
Jiuzhu raised her head and stood on tiptoe, taking the opportunity to rub the Prince's face. In the stunned expression of the Prince, she nodded with satisfaction: "Well, I'm not angry anymore."
"Ming little pig, you have learned bad things by hanging out with your sisters-in-law." Prince Chen came to his senses. His little pig used to be so well-behaved, but now he has learned to cheat after only being in the palace for a short time.
Sure enough, the palace was a big dye vat, turning his white, tender and spotless little pig into a variety of colors.
The two of them rode out of the palace in a carriage. When Jiuzhu got off the carriage, she realized where the prince had been waiting for her.
Originally it was just a mound of earth. Now there is not even a mound left, it has turned into a big pit.
Jiuzhu turned to look at Prince Chen: "Your Highness?"
If an ordinary person saw such a scene, he would definitely suspect that Prince Chen had destroyed someone else's tomb, but Jiuzhu's first reaction was, Your Highness wants to repair Changsheng's tomb?
Looking at her trusting eyes, Prince Chen smiled. It was a good thing that he met such a little fool.
Fortunately, it was her, so that his efforts to seek grace from his father, the emperor, and his mother were not in vain.
"Take the things off the carriage." Prince Chen said, "Jinggui Taifei was a concubine listed in the imperial edict of the previous emperor. Her funeral was jointly organized by the Imperial Clan Bureau and the Ministry of Rites. I cannot transport her body out of the palace. I can only take some of her daily items, jewelry and clothes, and build a cenotaph to bury her with Changsheng."
His grandfather had committed many evil things, and as his grandson, if he gave his grandfather a colored hat, his ancestors would probably turn a blind eye and not hold it against him.
"We can't do this in a big way, so we have to keep it simple." Prince Chen held Jiuzhu's hand and whispered, "Let's hurry up and don't let anyone find out."
"Do father and mother agree to this?" Even though Jiuzhu grew up in a Taoist temple and didn't know much about worldly affairs, she knew that this was not in line with the principles of filial piety.
"Shh, you can't say it, you can't say it." Prince Chen took out the tablet hidden under the carriage. The name written on it was not Mr. So-and-so, but Zhao Taohua.
According to folk customs, the bones must be washed and the time must be chosen for the joint burial. However, Jiuzhu knew that if Changsheng and Concubine Jinggui were still alive, they would not mind that the funeral was not grand enough.
Warm the grave with paper money, then sweep the bottom with clothes to fan out all the paper money ashes from the grave.
This should have been done by their children and grandchildren, but Concubine Zhao and Changsheng had no descendants, so Jiuzhu and Prince Chen took their worn outer robes and fanned for a long time, finally fanning out all the ashes of the burnt paper money at the bottom of the grave.
The two men's heads and faces were covered with flying paper money dust, and their white clothes turned into black, white and gray.
"I asked someone before coming here, this step is essential." Prince Chen pulled Jiuzhu out of the pit: "This means that they will have no worries about food and clothing in their next life, and they will live a safe and smooth life."
"Oh." Jiuzhu nodded, confusedly: "What should we do next?"
"Put Aunt Zhao's clothes and hats in the grave." Prince Chen put his hands behind his back and said, "The other burial rules are for Fu Ze's descendants. Since they have no descendants, why bother them?"
As the coffin was buried and the soil covered it, Jiuzhu's depressed mood began to gradually improve.
When the Prince of Chen asked his attendants to place the newly carved tombstone in front of the tomb, a smile appeared on Jiuzhu's face.
"Are you finally not sad anymore?" Prince Chen took out a handkerchief and wiped Jiuzhu's dusty face, even though his hands were not very clean either.
"Yeah." Jiuzhu nodded: "They couldn't be together in life, so it's good for them to be classmates after death."
"Come, light a stick of incense for them, and then we'll go home." Prince Chen handed the incense to Jiuzhu and bowed three times towards the tombstone.
A breeze blew, the cigarette swirled in the air and flew up into the blue sky.
Longevity, peach blossom.
May they live a hundred years in the next life and have a life as bright as fire.
The two men returned to the carriage and saw each other's muddy feet, dirty faces and clothes, and they laughed out loud.
"That's right. The little girl looks so beautiful when she smiles." Prince Chen reached out and pinched Jiuzhu's face. Two black fingerprints appeared on her already scratchy face.
He looked away guiltily, coughed dryly and said, "It will be dark soon, the maids and eunuchs won't dare to look directly at our faces. As long as we walk fast enough, no one will notice that our clothes are dirty."
Of course, the focus is actually on the face.
But he didn't dare say it.
They were covered in paper money ashes, and changing clothes outside the palace would easily arouse others' speculation. It would be better for them to return to the palace openly so that others would not think too much.
"What if someone sees us?"
"If you see it, just tell them that I took you out of the palace to grill fish, but we accidentally fell into the ash pile." Prince Chen said calmly: "Don't worry, as long as we tell the answer, no one will dare to ask further questions."
Based on his previous style of doing things, perhaps no one would suspect that he was lying.
As night fell, Prince Chen took two thin black cloaks, put them on himself and Jiuzhu, and strode along the palace road with a sense of righteousness.
"You're pregnant before your mother's body is even cold. What do you mean by filial piety? I think you were just pretending."
"The mother is like that, so naturally the son should pretend to be like that."
The eunuchs' voices were heard from behind the palace gate. There seemed to be a hint of excitement in their harsh tone.
When Jiuzhu heard this conversation, he immediately stopped and King Chen frowned and looked behind the door.
Some people are born to like seeing others in trouble.
There is never a shortage of people in this world who take advantage of others' misfortunes.
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